NW Vacation Part 2

More reports from our fabulous vacation in Washington and Oregon. We promise to post a whole lotta pictures and maybe videos here in the coming days as we get things in order at the homestead.

After spending several wonderful days in Ocean Shores on the Pacific coast of Washington (during which we even had a couple sunny days and saw the sunset), we packed up the car and drove several hours to Portland. It was a beautiful, but long drive. Elaine didn't enjoy being strapped to the seat in the car. On the route we unscientifically compared small towns in Washington to small towns in the upper Midwest. We thought there were fewer churches and fewer bars in Washington. But they don't lack for drive-thru espresso within eyesight in every settled portion of the state.

In Portland, we stayed with groovy friends Laura and Mike and their two pugs, Bubba and Bucky. They were fun, excellent hosts, who let us see some of the Portland attractions and kept us well fed. Meredith and Elaine both enjoyed the dogs. Meredith tired out the sweet and hyper dogs on a few occasions.

We then drove a long drive from Portland back to Washington, around the far side of Mount Saint Helens, and then cut up near Mount Rainier, to Tacoma. We are flat-landers and took some adjusting to the windy mountain roads. Meredith got carsick for the first time. Jen and I were nervous about the sheer drop-offs along miles and miles of the road. As we entered the blast zone of Mount Saint Helens, which is still mostly dead logs laying on the ground, my anxiety driving increased because I could clearly see how much of a drop there was just a couple feet off the edge of the road. With no vegetation, there is nothing to stop you should you stray just a little bit from the edge of the road. Particularly nerve-wrecking were the numerous occasions where the edge of the road had crumbled a bit into the ledge. It took a few days for my stiff neck and legs to recover from driving in those conditions for several hours.

Anyways, we got the closest to the still active volcano as vehicles could go. Meredith was impressed with the whole scene, including the steam continuously flowing out of the top. Going to the volcano was all she had wanted to do the previous several days.

We then spent the night at a hotel in Tacoma and tried desperately to get a decent night sleep. in that category, Jen didn't fare well. In the morning we drove up to my Uncle Walt and Aunt Maggie in Seattle. They had just arrived from their trip the night before and generously hosted us for several days. Meredith played fetch with their lovely dog Bailey, also tiring her out. We got to play games of Uno (Meredith's current favorite), eat wonderful local salmon and blackberry pie.

We spent some time at Pike's Place, the Elliott Bay Book Company, and the Seattle Aquarium. As what seems to be a tradition of mine for vacations, I spent the last two days of the trip with a head cold.

In the end, we had a wonderful time. Traveling with a four month old and a nearly four year old has its challenges--and lots of gear. Moving around and time zone changes are difficult for a baby's sleep schedule, but somehow we managed. Elaine continued to thrive on our journey. She now can roll herself fully on to her stomach from her back. She is becoming more proficient at eating purred food (this last week: bananas). On two occasions Elaine gave a true laugh. First in response to tickles. Second in response to watching Bailey the dog catch a ball.

This trip added some states to our family's count. Elaine has been to four states now (MN, WI, WA, OR). Meredith added her 11th and 12th states. Derek remains at 48 states. (Here we come Hawaii and Alaska!) Jen's count is somewhere around 40.